Review: The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

 

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

Publication Date: March 4th 2025 by Graydon House & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 49mins

Narrators: Katharine Chin

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Emma Page and her family’s lives center around books, however in very different ways. Emma’s parents own The Mighty Page, a publishing house dedicated to elevated “literary” books, while Emma loves the feel-good romances introduced by her late grandmother. Her sister, Jenna, is a powerful book influencer paid to push books she hardly even reads anymore.

 

Emma has written a book, but it’s the kind of mainstream, women’s fiction her parents wouldn’t consider publishing. When her parents announce a business collaboration with a best-selling author Emma despises, she’s threatened by him and put in a tough position.

 

I really enjoyed seeing Emma reconnect with her sister while uncovering some of their family secrets. I loved how they banded together to take down a vile man! Emma’s parents weren’t very likeable in the beginning, mostly her mother, but I understood her better by the end with some backstory revealed.  

 

The Page Turner took a little to get into, with a lot of commentary on the publishing world and some of the narrow views on what constitutes quality reading, but it shaped up to be a feel-good story!  I was also moved by the author’s note on what inspired his story.

 

I enjoyed Katharine Chin’s narration, and I thought she did well with both male and female voices. I listened at 1.75x normal speed.

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

A young romance writer makes a discovery that throws her elitist family into chaos.

Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed “serious” authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social-media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel.

Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the “fluff” they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi’s belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents’ business and destroy their reputation in the industry—a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide: As much as she’s dreamed of the day her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed?

Review: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

 

Nothing Every Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

Publication Date: February 11th 2025 by Graydon House & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 304

Audio Book Length: 9 hrs 33 min

Narrator: Brittany Pressley, Stacey Glemboski, Petrea Buchard

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Harper Collins | Libro.fm | Audible | Bookshop.org

My Thoughts:

Shelby comes back to Mackenzie’s diner at the wrong time and interrupts a theft in progress. She ends up narrowly surviving the night. Things are relatively quiet for the next fifteen months, and Shelby tries to move on with her life. However, it seems the attacker isn’t finished with her.

 

The night of the attack, Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, goes missing, too leading some to theorize Leo was the attacker. As if his disappearance isn’t enough to deal with, Mackenzie finds out that Leo spent all the savings and was in debt, devastating her finances. She doesn’t know what to think.

 

Florance is a resident at the senior center Shelby manages. When a friend claims her husband didn’t die of natural causes, but was murdered, Florance decides to look into it which ends up being connected to Shelby’s case.

 

I did find Shelby’s actions to be a little frustrating in places. After being attacked and all the things going on, she plowed on without thinking things through. I also wondered why Mackenzie and Shelby weren’t a little more forthcoming with each other, especially since they were close friends.

 

Still, it was an entertaining mystery, fast paced and kept me guessing!

I alternately read and listened to an audio and can recommend either version. Stacey Glemboski is a new to me narrator, but I’ve listened to both Brittany Pressley and Petrea Buchard in that past and enjoyed all three narrators. It was nice to have a different voice for each of the POVs. They fit the personality of each character and sounded age appropriate. 

4 Stars

Book Description:

“A charming cast of characters, a twisty mystery, and a diabolical killer make Nothing Ever Happens Here impossible to put down. A riveting page-turner with a sly sense of humor.” —Robyn Harding, internationally bestselling author of The Haters

Nothing ever happens in small towns…

When Shelby Dawson survives a harrowing attack that should have left her dead, she tries to move past it—for herself, and for her family. Fifteen months later, with the help of her best friend, Mackenzie, she finally feels safe again in the snowy Minnesota town she calls home. But when an anonymous note appears on her windshield bearing the same threats her attacker made, Shelby realizes that her nightmare has only just begun.

As new evidence surfaces, and a group of well-meaning senior citizens accidentally makes the case go viral online, the situation quickly goes from bad to worse. And with suspicious accidents targeting those closest to her happening all over town, Shelby can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. Fighting to stay one step ahead of disaster, she finds herself asking the question on everyone’s lips: Who attacked her that night?

But Shelby isn’t the only one with questions. Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, vanished without a trace on that terrible night, and over a year later, no one knows why. Until a deep dive into his finances reveals a history of debts, mismanaged funds, and hidden accounts—one of which is still active. Their suspicion that Leo is still alive only complicates things further, though, and when another person connected to Shelby goes missing, she’s caught in a race against time before her attacker becomes a killer.

Photo credit: Bryan Chatlein

About the Author: 

Seraphina Nova Glass is an assistant professor of instruction and playwright in residence at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches film studies and playwriting. Her novel On A Quiet Street was nominated for an Edgar Award, was a New York Times Summer Read, an Amazon Bestseller and Editor’s Pick, and also featured in the Boston Globe and Bustle. Publishers Weekly has named her “a writer to watch.” She’s also an award-winning playwright and holds an MFA degree in dramatic writing from Smith College and a second MFA in directing from the University of Idaho. She is a proud dog mom and loves to travel the world with her husband. She resides in Dallas, Texas.

Connect with the author:

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Review: The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead

Publication Date: May 9th 2023 by Graydon House

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Harper Collins | Goodreads | Bookshop.org

My Thoughts:

Alexis is off to her first one-night stand to celebrate a year of being rid of her cheating ex, who accused her of being unable to “satisfy his needs”.  She meets Logan Arthur, a gubernatorial candidate, unbeknownst to her at the time, and they hit it off splendidly, talking, laughing, all the while sparks fly. Unfortunately, what promises to be a lusty, unforgettable night ends abruptly when a fire causes the hotel to evacuate, and they’re caught on camera fleeing.

Logan has the rep of a playboy which has been hurting his campaign, so his team asks Alexis to pose as his girlfriend shutting down more gossip about his playboy ways.

The Boyfriend Candidate was in parts enjoyable to me, but it contained one of my least favorite forms of conflict: miscommunication. Logan and Alexis come close to being honest about their feelings for each other time and time again, but something stops every time them until almost the very end!  Logan was a sweetheart, and a blind person could see he was a goner for Alexis. I liked Alexis, but she tried my patience by breaking every one of their ground rules without regard to how her actions affected Logan or his team.  The whole Will situation was particularly frustrating.  Also, Alexis is touted as a shy character terrified of public speaking but somehow has a complete turnaround within a few pages and is speaking out for education reform with gusto.

With all that said, I did enjoy The Boyfriend Candidate overall. It was entertaining. I enjoyed the humor and the chemistry between Alexis and Logan. I was really rooting for them! There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. When Alexis adopts Patches, a long overlooked shelter cat, my heart soared! Alexis’ mom with her video to promote her cat/animal shelter was a hoot! Cute/fun cat scenes I loved! I enjoyed the positive female friendships, as well, even though I wasn’t a huge fan of her sister, Lee. 

I wouldn't hesitate to read another romance from Winstead. I would like to try her thriller: In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. 

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

A laugh-out-loud rom-com about learning to embrace living outside your comfort zone.

As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek—in bed!—she decides she needs to change. And what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?

Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Audacious and filterless, Logan is Alexis’s opposite—and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfill her hookup wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm. In their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly—and shockingly—flees.

Alexis is bewildered until suddenly pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. Turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot candidate challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious scandal is poised to sink his career—and jeopardize Alexis’s job—until a solution is proposed: he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?

Photo credit: Luis Noble

About the author:

Ashley Winstead 2021 breakout thriller was In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. Her 2022 romance debut, Fool Me Once, was an Amazon Editor’s Best Romance as well as a USA Today, PopSugar, New York Post, and Goodreads best or most anticipated romance of the year. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and optioned for film/TV.

Connect with Ashley Winstead:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads